Teach About Costa Rica
By Olvin J. Abrego Ayala
Below find resources for teaching about Costa Rica. We hope these resources help you prepare to teach during Teach Central America Week and all year long.
Lessons
BEAUTY AND ECO-RELATIONSHIPS IN THE NATURAL WORLD OF CENTRAL AMERICA
In this lesson for K-8th grade, students learn about three different animals — a bird, a frog, and a butterfly (the motmot of El Salvador, the exquisite spike-thumb frog of Honduras, and the owl butterfly from Guatemala). All these creatures are indigenous to Central America and help us understand the region’s ecosystems. Using visual art, the lesson gives students the opportunity to explore in-depth facts about each animal, while integrating an arts component where students are encouraged to draw the animals and design their own books to scaffold learning.
Books
Books for K-12 and adults on Costa Rica.
Books on all Central American countries.
Films
Cálido Afuera
HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT
In a turbulent political period following the declaration of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in favor of equal marriage in Costa Rica, a lesbian woman, a gay man and a transgender woman face a new coming out of the closet, but this time public and in favor of sexual diversity in the country.
Costa Rica S.A.
HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT
The film explores with satirical black-humor a series of polemical aspects of the The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), such as the inclusion of war weapons as objects of commerce for Costa Rica, a country without an army, or the incorporation of Central American undersea resources as part of the United States' definition of territory
El Codo del Diablo
HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT
Puerto Limon, Costa Rica, 1948. Four days before Christmas, Setico a 12-year-old boy must take a train in search of his father. A trip that will reveal the forgotten memories of this banana enclave and the murder of six political prisoners in a place known as Devil's Elbow.
Tropical Iron: The Saga of Minor Keith
HIGH SCHOOL/ADULT
Tropical Iron is about the story of Minor Keith and the construction of the Costa Rican Railway in the 19th Century. Laying one hundred miles of track cost the lives of over 4000 men, took nearly 20 years to complete, and bankrupted a nation. It resulted in the formation of the United Fruit Company, the largest agricultural enterprise in the world, and the most controversial US company ever to operate in Latin America. Watch critically: this film explores an often untold history but occasionally glamorizes Minor Keith in its portrayal. 108 minutes.
Podcasts
JAZ AND LALAY- RADIO AMBULANTE
Under the Shadow Ep. 11 | Costa Rica. Peace & Democracy—Maybe.
Important Figures
Epsy Campbell Barr (b.1963) is a politician and economist who served as the first Black woman vice president in Latin America in Costa Rica from 2018–2022. She is president of the United Nations Permanent Forum of People of African Descent. She has founded several organizations, including the Center for Afro-descendant Women and the Black Parliament of the Americas. Her research focuses on women’s rights, the environment, democracy, and racial discrimination against Afrodescendant peoples.
Chavela Vargas was a Costa Rican-born Mexican singer, she gained widespread recognition for her distinctive interpretations of Mexican rancheras. However, her impact extends beyond this genre, encompassing various styles within popular Latin American music.
Artists
Francisco Amighetti
Francisco Amighetti (1907 – 1998) is considered one of the pillars of Costa Rican culture. He was also one of the most prolific and original Latin American artists. He was a specialist in the art of color xylograph. Amighetti’s art spans a variety of themes, including sexuality, death, and social commentary.
Coming soon: Timeline.